SEVEN wasted men will be in Ely next week as part of a new campaign to help urge people to shop smart and cut down the amount of waste they dump in their bins. Seven man-shaped sculptures have been produced by London artist Michelle Reader out of rubbis

SEVEN "wasted" men will be in Ely next week as part of a new campaign to help urge people to shop smart and cut down the amount of waste they dump in their bins.

Seven man-shaped sculptures have been produced by London artist Michelle Reader out of rubbish to demonstrate the 524kg of household waste which the average householder in Cambridgeshire produces every year.

That is equivalent to seven times an average body weight and statistics show this figure grows year on year.

The Be a Smart Shopper campaign from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Waste Partnership aims to show people, with the use of the Seven Wasted Men, just how much waste they are throwing away and encourage them to tackle it at its source and shop smarter.

The seven striking figures will be spread over the High Street in Ely between 11am and 3.30pm tomorrow (Friday).

Waste officers will be giving advice on how to shop in a way which minimises the waste which eventually ends up in the bin.

Free cotton bags for residents to carry their shopping will also be on offer to help people cut down on the number of plastic bags they use. Street drama around the theme of waste will also be staged.

Victor Perez, waste campaigns officer for Cambridgeshire County Council said: "Waste production has a negative impact not only on the environment, but on our pockets too. It is estimated that the average Briton throws away £1,725 a year on unused goods and services, with almost a quarter being food. If you put that amount into a savings account over 40 years, you would have enough savings to buy a holiday home.

"The Be a Smart Shopper campaign will highlight both the environmental and economic gains of choosing products that cut down on waste. The waste we produce is related to the goods we purchase so if we make the right decision when shopping, there will be less waste to deal with. Simple actions such as using a re-usable cotton bag to carry the weekly shopping and buying fruit and vegetables loose can make a big difference."

Cambridgeshire is the top of the league for shire counties for recycling and has just received Beacon status from Government for waste management. The county council is committed to encouraging people to reduce, reuse and recycle their rubbish.

Cambridgeshire spends around £7 million a year on landfilling rubbish - £600,000 of which is a Government imposed tax which is set to increase.

Not only will the tax increase on landfill but from 2010 councils will be fined £150 for every tonne of rubbish landfilled over Government imposed limits.